Longtime political and anti-violence activist Hal Baskin was found dead by his family Friday morning in his Englewood home, according to the Englewood Political Task Force.

Baskin, 66, was pronounced dead at 7:20 a.m. Friday in his Englewood home, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and Darryl Smith, a member of the task force.

Baskin was a former gang member who became a community organizer and at one point ran for alderman. U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Chicago, described Baskin as a passionate leader who kept him connected to what was going on in Englewood, according to a statement released Friday.

“Words cannot express the amount of respect, love, and regard I have for Hal and his family,” Rush said in the statement. “We worked so well together and had a strong kinship and I am completely shocked and absolutely devastated by his untimely death. His passing will leave an enormous hole in Chicago, Englewood, and the African-American community. My condolences to his family, friends and admirers.”

Smith described Baskin as a pillar of the community who spearheaded various organizations and worked with the youth. Smith said Baskin had been his mentor since he was 13 years old.

“He was that selfless guy,” Smith said. “He set the path for people like myself to carry the torch.”

When Baskin ran for office in the 1990s, he described himself as a “champion” in campaign literature.

“They say I’m a champion, a fighter, a hero,” Baskin said at the time. “It’s not many opportunities you get to meet a man like myself who has went through trials and tribulations and changed.”

Some of his ties in the community were controversial. He was friends with Larry Hoover, of the Gangster Disciples, and Baskin worked with a group that had close ties to the gang leader.

Among the things Baskin will be remembered for is his help in getting a city park renamed after Ryan Harris, an 11-year-old girl whose murder drew a national spotlight, Smith said.

“My heart is joyous today because of what the Englewood community has done, that Ryan’s death has not been in vain but has been memorialized,” Baskin said during a dedication ceremony for the park.

The city’s violence often hit close to home for Baskin. His brother Rodney Baskin Sr. was killed in 1994. One of his great-nephews and another nephew were killed in separate shootings. His own son, Hal Baskin Jr., was wounded in a shooting in 2013.

After his brother was killed, Baskin did not seek retaliation and at the time he told the Tribune he deserved credit for taking that road.

“The brothers who did it will get either street justice or court justice,” Baskin said at the time. “My job is to make sure I heal the community, not pain the community.”